


One Step Ahead

by NerdyPanda3126



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Awkward Conversations, Gen, Male Friendship, Married Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Mentioned Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Post-Reveal Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Pregnant Marinette Dupain-Cheng
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-05 08:47:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25467997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NerdyPanda3126/pseuds/NerdyPanda3126
Summary: Adrien shows up on Luka's doorstep with some big news and an unexpected question.“It’s just...I got to thinking…” Adrien paused to take a deep breath before the words rushed out of him. “If something ever happens to me you’ll take care of her, right?”
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Luka Couffaine
Comments: 37
Kudos: 207





	One Step Ahead

**Author's Note:**

> I heard the song [Don't Let Her](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBukDhoQMA4) by Walker Hayes and this little conversation between Adrien and Luka popped in my head. 
> 
> Thank you so much to [Mizu4TheWin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mizu4TheWin/pseuds/Mizu4TheWin) for reading over this and for encouraging me to keep posting

A soft knock at the door of his apartment made Luka pause. He wasn’t expecting anyone. Maybe it was just a kid playing a prank, or someone with the wrong address. But when the knock was repeated, Luka dragged himself off the couch to check who it might be. When he looked through the peephole and saw Adrien Agreste on his doorstep, his first response was to grind his teeth together. His second was to sigh and open the door for him. 

Adrien looked up at Luka sheepishly. They hadn’t really spoken since the wedding. Luka told himself he was happy for them both and left it at that. He locked away any potential for jealousy— boxed it away in a small, secret part of his heart, and promised himself to never think of it again. He still kept in touch with Marinette, as much as he allowed himself to, and she usually told him how Adrien was in the same breath. 

He and Adrien had a simple, unspoken understanding. They both loved her. They both understood the other's position. There wasn’t usually any need for their paths to cross. Luka had even relinquished his Miraculous when Adrien and Marinette had started dating after the identity reveal to make things easier on everyone. Even though it killed him to give up Sass. Marinette had protested, of course, but Luka’s mind had been made up. He’d only get in the way. 

“Can I come in?” Adrien asked, as shyly as Luka had ever known him to. This was a breach of protocol and they both knew it. Luka stood aside in silent acknowledgement. 

Once inside, Adrien started to wring his hands nervously and pace along the entryway tile. Luka had no clue what Adrien wanted, but if he was here, it must be important. Luka shut the door and leaned back against it to wait for Adrien to spit it out. 

“I have some news,” Adrien started. Luka nodded for him to continue. “Marinette’s pregnant.” 

Luka’s eyes widened before he could stop them. He managed to close his mouth quickly, but his teeth clicked with the force of the motion. 

“She doesn’t want to tell anyone yet.” Adrien stopped pacing and met Luka’s eyes, solemnly swearing him to confidence. “Her mom and dad don’t even know yet.” 

Luka cleared his throat. “So why are you telling me?” 

Adrien picked up his pacing again. His nerves were starting to make Luka fidgety, too. He almost wanted to reach out and grab Adrien just to make him stop moving. Finally, he did stop, and he faced Luka at attention, although he was still fiddling with his Chat Noir ring. 

“It’s just...I got to thinking…” Adrien paused to take a deep breath before the words rushed out of him. “If something ever happens to me you’ll take care of her, right?” 

Luka blinked. Once. Twice. He still couldn’t process what Adrien was asking. Adrien let out his breath in a huff. 

“Last night. Marinette and I were talking about being superheroes as well as parents. How it would work, you know,” Adrien tried to start again, “and it made me think about all the narrow misses I’ve had.” 

He fixed his eyes on Luka’s. “And I thought about Marinette. Being alone. I wouldn’t want her to miss me. I would want her…” He tensed his jaw. Luka braced himself for whatever was coming. “I would want her to move on and fall in love again.” 

The words knocked the breath out of Luka. Adrien waited. He knew what his words meant. It was their mutual understanding, blown wide open. It was an admission that Marinette could have loved Luka once. That if Adrien hadn't been in the picture, Marinette could have chosen Luka. That if the worst should happen, Luka had Adrien's blessing. 

Luka braced himself with a hand on the doorknob behind him as he slumped backwards. He’d been doing his best not to think about what ifs. Now they all came crashing in on him. His eyes couldn’t seem to focus on anything except a spot on the floor directly behind Adrien. 

In his peripheral, Adrien shifted uncomfortably. “You’ll be there for her, won’t you?” 

Luka nodded. Automatically. Of course he would be. He’d always be there for Marinette. 

There was an awkward pause between them. 

“Orchids are her favorite,” Adrien started cautiously. Luka’s eyes snapped up. “She likes surprise gifts, but gets embarrassed if they cost too much.” 

He waited for Luka to object, to say something, but Luka was still reeling from almost a decade of repressed feelings rushing back at once. 

“She likes a splash of coffee in her cream. And don’t tell her, but she acts just like Sabine, especially when she’s angry.” 

Luka’s swirling thoughts finally caught up to him. Adrien was being helpful, in his own way. He was giving Luka tips on courting Marinette. For if he ever needed them. He swallowed past the lump in his throat and managed to pull himself upright again. 

Adrien’s cheek pulled up in a sad half-smile. “Babies make her smile every time.” Tears were starting to gather in his eyes. “She’ll be a fantastic mother.” 

Finally, Luka understood. Adrien was terrified. 

“And you’ll be a fantastic father,” he managed to say. 

Adrien avoided Luka’s eyes. “I can’t be a father,” he admitted quietly. 

Luka reached out to grip Adrien’s shoulder and shook him the smallest amount. “Marinette thinks you can be.” 

Adrien cleared his throat and wiped at his eyes hurriedly. “Uh, what else? She hates glitter. I bought her a card once covered in it and she went on for a solid ten minutes about it.” 

Luka pressed his thumb into the hollow of Adrien’s shoulder. Enough to hurt. “Adrien, you can’t run away from this.” 

Adrien shrugged Luka’s hand off irritably. “I’m not. But being Chat Noir... Let’s just say I know the odds aren’t in my favor.” 

“They would be if you didn’t throw yourself in front of every shot.” 

“That’s just it, though. That’s what I do. That’s what being Chat Noir means. I’m the sacrificial pawn.” 

Luka couldn’t help the mean chuckle that slipped through his teeth. 

“What?” 

“It hasn’t occurred to you to change your strategy?” Luka asked. 

Adrien opened his mouth, then closed it.

“Let me get this straight. Your first thought after hearing you’d be a father was not, ‘I’d better be more careful,’ but ‘I’d better make sure that if I die in battle, my good friend Luka will pick up the pieces of my shattered family’?” Luka was being cruel, he knew. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t the truth. 

Adrien still hadn’t recovered. He was just glaring at Luka now. 

“What if, and here’s a crazy idea, but what if you let someone look out for you for once. A bishop to your pawn.” 

“I can’t let Marinette-”

“I wasn’t talking about Marinette.” Luka’s voice was firm. He could almost see the gears moving in Adrien’s head. 

“You’d be Viperion again?” 

“As long as you need me.” Luka crossed his arms over his chest. As far as he was concerned, the decision was made. Marinette was happy with Adrien. Which meant it was Luka’s job to keep Adrien safe. Nothing more to it. “With Second Chance, it doesn’t matter if you make stupid mistakes. Although I’d really appreciate it if you at least tried to show some restraint. For Marinette’s sake if not for mine.” 

Adrien nodded thoughtfully. He went to tuck his hands in his pockets and he seemed surprised to find an object inside one of them. Probably Marinette's Lucky Charm he always had on him. He fiddled with it while he processed. Luka could guess what he was mulling over. It wouldn’t be comfortable to work together again. But they were both bound to Marinette, one way or another. 

“Alright then,” Adrien said eventually, “but I need you to do one more thing for me.” 

Luka shrugged. 

“Come over for dinner tonight? Marinette’s making dumplings and I think she’d love to see you.” 

Luka smirked. “As long as I get to tell her you want me to woo her in the event of your untimely demise.” 

“What makes you think she doesn’t already know?”

Adrien pulled the snake Miraculous out of his pocket. They both stared at it in Adrien’s palm. 

Luka let out an incredulous laugh as he picked up the bracelet with shaking fingers. “She knows us well, doesn’t she?” 

Adrien nodded. “Always one step ahead.” 

As Luka fastened the bracelet around his wrist, Sass appeared in a flash of teal. Instantly, he took his customary place settled on Luka's shoulder, hiding in his hair while his tail wrapped lightly around Luka's neck. Luka felt Sass nuzzle against his neck and couldn’t help the happy tears that sprang to his eyes. 

“Here we are, then.” Adrien laughed. “One big, happy, kwami-filled family.” 

Luka nodded and swiped his tears away with his thumb as he cleared his throat. 

“To be honest, though, the team hasn’t been the same without you. I’m surprised Marinette didn’t ask you to come back sooner.” 

Luka paused to think as he tucked a finger underneath the familiar bracelet and tugged at it gently. Why wouldn’t Marinette come to give this to him herself? Why would she risk sneaking a Miraculous, Luka’s Miraculous, to Adrien without asking him explicitly to deliver it? 

When the answer hit him, Luka shook his head and started chuckling at their mutual stupidity. “It had to be our idea.” 

He watched as Adrien gradually came to the same conclusion he had. “She wanted us to talk.” 

Luka nodded. They’d both been so stubborn—Luka thought he’d be in the way and Adrien probably thought Luka was bitter—and sweet, sensible Marinette, sick of being caught in the middle, had been forced to knock their heads together. 

"Always one step ahead," Luka murmured.

They both paused as they met each others’ eyes, caught in the new unspoken understanding that was washing over them. They both loved her, and that probably wouldn't ever change. But it didn't mean they had to be at odds with each other. If anything, it made their friendship stronger. Because they both understood the other's position. 

"So, dinner?" Luka broke the silence. 

Adrien nodded before he lowered his head and glanced up at Luka. 

"You won't tell her I freaked out about being a dad?" 

Luka reached back behind him for the doorknob and opened the door again before he shot a smirk at Adrien. "What makes you think she doesn't already know?"


End file.
